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Starting from square one
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/01/14 - 9:13 PM
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Having trouble making the first hole in the console. It's like defacing a piece of art. As i begin to make a hole for the 8' whip antenna, i have to consider the whip on the console won't work with the bimini top. So now i'm looking at a folding down t top. Big bucks but it works for the console rod rack, antenna, and seat rod holders. So it's spend, spend, spend.
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| Weatherly |
Posted on 12/02/14 - 3:41 AM
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You have options for mounting the antenna somewhere other than the console. I prefer the antenna to be mounted on the aft starboard side rail area using a stainless steel rail mount. You can then run the wire through the rig tunnel to the console where the radio unit can be installed. Here is a link to a rail mount.
http://www.wholesalemarine.com/shakes...7Aodp2kAtw
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| wrangler |
Posted on 12/02/14 - 3:53 AM
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Consider a Bimi tee Top. Not very expensive at all. It does not fold, but it does lift off and I have one for lights, antenna etc.
www.bimiteetop.com 888 251 5911
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| cas1947 |
Posted on 12/02/14 - 5:52 AM
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Depending on your usage area you might not need a VHF. If you are within cell phone range that's all you need. I personally have a rail mount with a 4' digital antenna but have yet to use the VHF in 3 years.
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| brooks89 |
Posted on 12/02/14 - 8:41 AM
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A hand held VHF might be an idea. No wires, no antenna, no extra holes in the console and you have your bimini.
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/02/14 - 9:41 AM
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Thanks for all the good options. I'm an old school fisherman so any thing that get's in the way of fighting a fish has got to go . I'm bound to trip, tangle, or tumble on anything around me.So I'm looking for clear space. T top is better suited for me if i can still utilize the front console fishing pole rack. Have to consider the whip railing mount. even with the special t top i'm looking at it's a close call.Plus it's over a grand for the top. but it does allow for rods up front and off the seat holders to work. I'm trying do everything at one time, and get it all right the first time.I think that might be a pipe dream.
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| EJO |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 9:18 AM
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cas1947 wrote:
Depending on your usage area you might not need a VHF. If you are within cell phone range that's all you need. I personally have a rail mount with a 4' digital antenna but have yet to use the VHF in 3 years.
If you are a boater anywhere there is boat traffic I advise you ALWAYS HAVE a VHF and with a small Whaler a hand held should suffice but don't count on your cell phone unless you are traveling the canals in Venice or Amsterdam.
How often do you have a dropped phone call or bad reception?????? You don't want that to happen to you in an emergency.
Now if you are on your 10 acre local lake okay a VHF is not needed and most likely your phone won't work either as you are in the boondocks anyway.
Skipper E-J
m/v "Clumsy Cleat" a 2008 Montauk 150 |
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| Weatherly |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 9:30 AM
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One of many benefits of the rail mounted VHF antenna fitting is that it has a ratchet action. The ratchet makes it easy to lower the antenna flush with the gunwale, out of the way, when fishing.
My 1986 Montauk 17 had a console mounted VHF antenna and I disliked it because it impeded with movement around the console when fishing, and made use of the console stainless hand rail difficult. I was not able to lower the antenna even though it had a ratchet because the console rail stanchions got in the way.
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| Finnegan |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 11:51 AM
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I have not yet been able to figure out what model Whaler "bottomline" owns. But I agree with "weatherly", and cannot think of one center console Whaler where a console mounted antenna makes any sense. Because the radio is in/on the console, it at first seems like a good idea, but it is not if any sun/skin cancer protection is required.
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| Whalerbob |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 12:33 PM
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It obviously depends on what boat we're talking about and where you plan to use it but so far the best solution for me on my 17 Montauk is the rail / ratchet mount pictured above with a stainless whip antenna mounted on the crook of the console. It's not in the way of anything there and even with the Bimini up I can still use the antenna although I can only raise it to a 45 degree angle before it hits the canvas but it still works just fine.
A fixed mount VHF with DSC and connected to your chart plotter is probably the most important safety gear to have in a boat and the first thing I'd go to in an emergency, EPIRB is next.
Handhelds VHF's are a joke for reception but it's a good thing to have in a ditch bag if needed.
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| Weatherly |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 2:02 PM
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A VHF antenna should be mounted at least 3 feet away from the radio, so transmission will not interfere with the radio's reception. Bottomline mentioned he wants to install an 8 foot antenna. The higher the antenna, the better the antenna's range and performance.
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 4:54 PM
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I had already bought a standard horizon explorer gps gx1700 vhf class d with the dsc transceiver. Put's the coastguard on your exact location.Catalina run's can get a little shakey at times. Although i'm not going on any foul weather days. I also bouhgt a d-55 ritchie compass, and a garmin echomap 50dv with US coastal charts. i feel like i'm loaded for bear,at least that's what my wallet tells me.Looks like Wranglers taylor made bimi tee top is the way to go. west marine sells a fabric top for it at $67.00. I have a friend that makes drapes, that can cut slots in the fabric for the 8' whip antenna and the forward console fishing rods to slip through.and if the frame of the tee top can clamp to the console hand rails with disconnect pins then my worries would be over.Wait and see after i talk with the guy from taylor made.
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| wing15601 |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 5:24 PM
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Don't know how the Bimini tee top works but I can tell you I have a tee top on my 1984 Montauk 17. On the plus side it provides shade without the side restrictions of a Bimini and its got rod holders, nav light, VHF antenna and a flood light. On the negative side is the room it takes alongside the center console because you can't lean toward the center of the boat going forward so you have to hold on to keep from falling out of the boat. I have an E-TEC 90 on my boat. Others with the same setup have a top speed of 40 to 42 mph but as the bow rises that 20 +-sq. ft. top starts catching air and I only get 39 mph. I can't store the boat in my garage because of the top so I have to spend $300 a year for shrink wrap and storage. All in all I love the tee top but it was there when I bought the boat. If the boat were original I wouldn't spend the money.
Edited by wing15601 on 12/03/14 - 5:26 PM
I winter in Ft. Myers and summer in St. Joseph, Michigan. It’s now about 12 years since I’ve joined this group. I gave my 1972 whaler to my daughter and sold the 17’. Bought an O’Day 28 sailboat and sailed on Lake Michigan. Yesterday I bought a 2005 130 Sport. |
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 5:42 PM
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I'm going to talk to the taylor made people and see if the connections to the console can utilize the factory railing with railing clamps to the tee top with pull pins to release the top from the console. It's smilar to the montauk shadow t top at another site, but $500 or $ 600 dollars cheeper.
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/03/14 - 5:43 PM
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And they would make it in stainless for strength.
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/05/14 - 8:35 PM
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Finally I figured out the placement of the electronics and compass. I know this should be an easy task, but it's not. For me it's a nightmare shell game. I had to ask my neighbor what he thought. Left to right, vhf, garmin gps/plotter/sounder,compass. I'm going to have to look at this lineup, and it has to be perfect for me. If it isn't perfect I'll never be happy. Anal,anal, anal, what can I do.
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| bottomline |
Posted on 12/08/14 - 9:58 AM
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Got the bimini tee top Wrangler suggested. In 4.5'x6' as suggested by the owner at bimini tee top.He said that it was a better fit for the Montauk and would clamp to the existing console handrail. He talked me out of stainless, $230.00 more.He said the aluminum was more forgiving, easier to handle, and a better choice in his opinion.Happy with my decession to go with the aluminum. thanks again Wrangler
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| Whalerbob |
Posted on 12/08/14 - 6:02 PM
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Weatherly wrote:
A VHF antenna should be mounted at least 3 feet away from the radio, so transmission will not interfere with the radio's reception. Bottomline mentioned he wants to install an 8 foot antenna. The higher the antenna, the better the antenna's range and performance.
Not doubting what you're saying but hat doesn't make sense to me. You can't transmit and send at the same time so why would that matter and obviously hand held units don't have that issue.
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| Weatherly |
Posted on 12/09/14 - 7:36 AM
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Interference symptoms, aka "radio squeal", can occur when a transmitter radio is located too close to a receiving antenna.
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| gchuba |
Posted on 12/09/14 - 5:06 PM
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I just purchased a RayMarine Auto Pilot for my boat. The EV Sensor Core can be installed below deck. However, must be a minimum of 2 feet away of a "audio device" (the further the better) because the audio waves interfere with the EV Sensor Core. I picked a spot away from all (antennae, radio, etc...) to install it. I would guess the "squeal" Weatherly speaks of is somehow linked.
gchuba
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